Congratulations! You made it! You survived and excelled in your student teaching. You are now a science teacher! If you would, take a few minutes to share your wisdom about how to negotiate this difficult year with the students who are following in your footsteps by answering the following questions.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
During fall practicum I think the most important thing that students could do to make their student teaching go more smoothly is to familiarize themselves with students before you begin student teaching. From the first class of fall practicum, during groupwork and classwork walk around to all groups and work with students in a small group setting. This not only will help familiarize yourselves with them, but also allow the students to familiarize themselves with you as the beginning of student teaching can be a transition time for both you and your students. During this time don't only help students with their work, but try to have a personal conversation with every student possible before you finish your fall practicum about something that is outside the classroom. Extracurricular activities such as sports (both watching and playing), band, music in general, or even an interesting current event. Don't be afraid to share a little about yourself as well maybe if you have a pet, things you may like to do (such as playing sports, hiking, read books, etc.) or even share stories that may have happened to you. As students are able to make connections with you outside the classroom and realize that you genuinely take an interest into things they may do outside of the classroom they'll have a greater respect for both you and what you're teaching them. Through these methods it's helped me create a secure and comfortable learning environment for all students where they not only feel comfortable sharing things with you, but also the entire class. Students that may have been timid in the past now can feel at ease sharing answers and contributing to class discussions, which will make your day-to-day lessons more effective. Another thing you may want to consider is to teach a lesson in the fall, even if it's just a brief activity. Doing this will allow you to get a feel for both how your students act/work in group settings and also allow you to gain experience in front of the class.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
I think the unit plan, although time consuming and difficult at first, is the most important assignment of EDC 430. Once student teaching you'll be working on these unit plans on a daily basis, and familiarizing yourself with both the process of planning a unit and things to consider while planning before you begin student teaching will help you begin your student teaching on the right note. When I made my unit plan, I planned it for my second placement and taught this in the end of March. This was great, but If I were to do it again I would plan the unit plan I would most likely teach when I first began my student teaching in January. When you first begin student teaching you have a ton on your mind, between getting used to the schedule, students, teaching in front of the class. Planning a unit on top of this is the last thing you want to do, so although things may change and you may choose to change a lesson here and there or switch things around, these minor changes can easily be made as opposed to planning an entire unit during this first couple of weeks. Put a lot of time and effort into this in the fall, and they'll not only hep you during the first few weeks of student teaching but also make it easier to plan your next unit during student teaching.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have been better prepared for student teaching if I had ...."
The one thing that I felt really handcuffed me throughout student teaching was mainly financial. With the ever-increasing gas prices and financial hardships on most of the country right now, it's understandable that if you're not placed in an area close to you that the gas prices could really hit you hard. With that said, they recommend that you don't work during student teaching, and this is a recommendation I strongly recommend you take into consideration, although based on your situation you may be unable to consider this. In the fall, you don't really grasp how time consuming student teaching is really going to be. When observing the class, it doesn't seem to bad and usually the work you may do entails things you enjoy doing so time passes quickly. Once you begin student teaching in January however, you really realize how much time and energy needs to be put into each lesson, activity, lab, or grading an assignment. Based on fellow student teachers, I know that even just working on these can seem like a very difficult task at times. If you need to work on top of this, it may seem insurmountable. Throughout student teaching I worked between 15-20 hours a week in an attempt to keep up with my finances between gas money, bills, etc. I feel like although I was able to complete all of my work and was confident I had successfully taught and prepared each lesson I taught, it came at the expense of my sleep. Working on 3, 4, and 5 hours sleep can become almost a norm if you need to take this route, and it can make it difficult to even get through the week. My recommendation to you is to work as much as you can during the fall semester and Christmas break before student teaching to build up your bank account so this is something you don't have to worry about during student teaching. Take it from me, throughout student teaching there is enough to fill up each day with things to do from the day you start till the day you finish if you do it effectively, and making time to work on top of this can make your student teaching unnecessarily difficult. With that said, if it's a route you must take just keep your head up and stay motivated, things will get easier as time goes on and although at times it may seem like you're going to break just keep working hard and you'll do just fine.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
The last words of wisdom I'd like to share is to be flexible throughout your student teaching. Don't stress, whether if an activity doesn't go as planned, you feel overwhelmed due to all of your work, or worry when a class may do poorly on a test. Stressing out about these things will only make matters worse, and instead it's good to just make the most effective use of your time to get everything that you need done and allows you to move on to the next task. I find it better to make a list of things that need to be done, and crossing off things one at a time makes me feel better about lightening the load. As teachers, it's important that we're very flexible during our teaching. Being fully prepared for each lesson and having a backup plan could serve as a very valuable tool when student teaching. During just my second lesson in January, I taught a lesson in which at the last second the powerpoint failed to work due to technical problems and the lab we were supposed to do right after taking notes couldn't be done due to lab materials that proved to be faulty (although tested the night before). These things happen, and luckily I was able to get through the notes by writing them on the board due to being thoroughly prepared with a printed copy and I had a backup activity planned for the students that we were able to complete. Don't stress out during these situations as it will only make things work, just stay confident and calm and work on fixing the problems that may arise on a day to day basis, it will make your student teaching a lot less stressful. Lastly, communicate with your cooperating teacher on a daily basis to gain input on your teaching styles and strategies. They've gained a lot of experience through their teaching, and although you may have a style quite different from theirs, you may find that implementing certain aspects of things they would do may make your teaching not only easier but more effective as well. Lastly, when things get tough just keep working hard and don't look back. You're going to get stressed out at least a few times during your student teaching and feel like there's no way you can complete everything you need to. Don't let it affect you and just keep working hard making the most out of the time you have. Things will get better and the 14 weeks will go by much faster than you think. Good Luck!
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
During fall practicum I think the most important thing that students could do to make their student teaching go more smoothly is to familiarize themselves with students before you begin student teaching. From the first class of fall practicum, during groupwork and classwork walk around to all groups and work with students in a small group setting. This not only will help familiarize yourselves with them, but also allow the students to familiarize themselves with you as the beginning of student teaching can be a transition time for both you and your students. During this time don't only help students with their work, but try to have a personal conversation with every student possible before you finish your fall practicum about something that is outside the classroom. Extracurricular activities such as sports (both watching and playing), band, music in general, or even an interesting current event. Don't be afraid to share a little about yourself as well maybe if you have a pet, things you may like to do (such as playing sports, hiking, read books, etc.) or even share stories that may have happened to you. As students are able to make connections with you outside the classroom and realize that you genuinely take an interest into things they may do outside of the classroom they'll have a greater respect for both you and what you're teaching them. Through these methods it's helped me create a secure and comfortable learning environment for all students where they not only feel comfortable sharing things with you, but also the entire class. Students that may have been timid in the past now can feel at ease sharing answers and contributing to class discussions, which will make your day-to-day lessons more effective. Another thing you may want to consider is to teach a lesson in the fall, even if it's just a brief activity. Doing this will allow you to get a feel for both how your students act/work in group settings and also allow you to gain experience in front of the class.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
I think the unit plan, although time consuming and difficult at first, is the most important assignment of EDC 430. Once student teaching you'll be working on these unit plans on a daily basis, and familiarizing yourself with both the process of planning a unit and things to consider while planning before you begin student teaching will help you begin your student teaching on the right note. When I made my unit plan, I planned it for my second placement and taught this in the end of March. This was great, but If I were to do it again I would plan the unit plan I would most likely teach when I first began my student teaching in January. When you first begin student teaching you have a ton on your mind, between getting used to the schedule, students, teaching in front of the class. Planning a unit on top of this is the last thing you want to do, so although things may change and you may choose to change a lesson here and there or switch things around, these minor changes can easily be made as opposed to planning an entire unit during this first couple of weeks. Put a lot of time and effort into this in the fall, and they'll not only hep you during the first few weeks of student teaching but also make it easier to plan your next unit during student teaching.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have been better prepared for student teaching if I had ...."
The one thing that I felt really handcuffed me throughout student teaching was mainly financial. With the ever-increasing gas prices and financial hardships on most of the country right now, it's understandable that if you're not placed in an area close to you that the gas prices could really hit you hard. With that said, they recommend that you don't work during student teaching, and this is a recommendation I strongly recommend you take into consideration, although based on your situation you may be unable to consider this. In the fall, you don't really grasp how time consuming student teaching is really going to be. When observing the class, it doesn't seem to bad and usually the work you may do entails things you enjoy doing so time passes quickly. Once you begin student teaching in January however, you really realize how much time and energy needs to be put into each lesson, activity, lab, or grading an assignment. Based on fellow student teachers, I know that even just working on these can seem like a very difficult task at times. If you need to work on top of this, it may seem insurmountable. Throughout student teaching I worked between 15-20 hours a week in an attempt to keep up with my finances between gas money, bills, etc. I feel like although I was able to complete all of my work and was confident I had successfully taught and prepared each lesson I taught, it came at the expense of my sleep. Working on 3, 4, and 5 hours sleep can become almost a norm if you need to take this route, and it can make it difficult to even get through the week. My recommendation to you is to work as much as you can during the fall semester and Christmas break before student teaching to build up your bank account so this is something you don't have to worry about during student teaching. Take it from me, throughout student teaching there is enough to fill up each day with things to do from the day you start till the day you finish if you do it effectively, and making time to work on top of this can make your student teaching unnecessarily difficult. With that said, if it's a route you must take just keep your head up and stay motivated, things will get easier as time goes on and although at times it may seem like you're going to break just keep working hard and you'll do just fine.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
The last words of wisdom I'd like to share is to be flexible throughout your student teaching. Don't stress, whether if an activity doesn't go as planned, you feel overwhelmed due to all of your work, or worry when a class may do poorly on a test. Stressing out about these things will only make matters worse, and instead it's good to just make the most effective use of your time to get everything that you need done and allows you to move on to the next task. I find it better to make a list of things that need to be done, and crossing off things one at a time makes me feel better about lightening the load. As teachers, it's important that we're very flexible during our teaching. Being fully prepared for each lesson and having a backup plan could serve as a very valuable tool when student teaching. During just my second lesson in January, I taught a lesson in which at the last second the powerpoint failed to work due to technical problems and the lab we were supposed to do right after taking notes couldn't be done due to lab materials that proved to be faulty (although tested the night before). These things happen, and luckily I was able to get through the notes by writing them on the board due to being thoroughly prepared with a printed copy and I had a backup activity planned for the students that we were able to complete. Don't stress out during these situations as it will only make things work, just stay confident and calm and work on fixing the problems that may arise on a day to day basis, it will make your student teaching a lot less stressful. Lastly, communicate with your cooperating teacher on a daily basis to gain input on your teaching styles and strategies. They've gained a lot of experience through their teaching, and although you may have a style quite different from theirs, you may find that implementing certain aspects of things they would do may make your teaching not only easier but more effective as well. Lastly, when things get tough just keep working hard and don't look back. You're going to get stressed out at least a few times during your student teaching and feel like there's no way you can complete everything you need to. Don't let it affect you and just keep working hard making the most out of the time you have. Things will get better and the 14 weeks will go by much faster than you think. Good Luck!